Qatar Airways said Tuesday it will buy 55 Airbus planes just hours after stalled negotiations prompted Qatar’s CEO to say Airbus was “still learning how to make airplanes.”
The deal includes 50 A320 new engine option aircraft, or A320neos, and five A380 super jumbos with options for more. Airbus says the package is worth $6.4 billion at list prices, but airlines typically negotiate lower prices for large orders.
The announcement was made at the Dubai Air Show. Qatar also signed a deal for two Boeing Co. 777 freighters on Tuesday.
Early on Tuesday, Qatar’s chief executive Akbar Al-Baker slammed Airbus, saying order talks were at an impasse.
“We thought that we will … make a very huge announcement today. Unfortunately I feel that Airbus is … still learning how to make airplanes,” al-Baker said when asked about the deal.
But Al-Baker was more congenial about Airbus when announcing the order later.
“The A320neo promises to be a great aircraft which is why we have chosen it to form the backbone of our future single aisle expansion,” he said in a statement.
Qatar Airways is increasingly challenging Dubai-based Emirates in the race for long-haul customers using the Gulf as a transit hub. Emirates placed a record $18 billion order for another 50 Boeing 777s shortly after the opening of the Middle East’s biggest airshow on Sunday.
Airbus also announced another order on Tuesday. Aviation Capital Group ordered 30 A320neos, worth $2.7 billion at list prices.
The A320neo offers a new engine option and other features designed to use 15 percent less fuel than older models of the single-aisle A320. It is scheduled to enter service in 2015.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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